State Prison System Sued for Discrimination

The federal government sued New York State's prison system yesterday, claiming the state unlawfully discriminated against a Muslim guard by banning him from wearing an Islamic sacred cap while on duty.

The guard, Abdus Samad Haqq of Brooklyn, brought an earlier lawsuit with the New York Civil Liberties Union last year to be allowed to wear the short rounded cap called a kufi. New York's Department of Correctional Services ordered him to stop wearing it two years ago.

In the suit, the U.S. Justice Department is seeking a broad overhaul of regulations governing how guards dress and groom themselves and the rights of religious employees.

A spokesman in Albany for the state prison system did not return a phone call seeking comment last night.